Article 112 of the Constitution of India requires the government to present before the Parliament a statement of estimated receipts and expenditures of the government in respect of every financial year. This financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March. This ‘Annual Financial Statement’ constitutes the main budget document of the government. Two types of budget were prepared every year. One the general budget also called as union budget. The other was the railway budget. The Union Cabinet had in 2016 decided to merge the Railway Budget with the General Budget, thus ending the 92-year-old tradition of having a separate Railway Budget. It was for the first time on 1 February, 2021 that the finance minister of the country Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the first digital budget. This move was aimed at a paperless Budget with a digital tablet completely replacing 'bahi khata' (a ledger wrapped in a red cloth) from which the finance minister read the budget.

Which of the following constitutes the single largest component of non-plan revenue expenditure?

Interest payments

Interest payments on market loans, external loans and from various reserve funds constitutes the single largest component of non-plan revenue expenditure.